Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Anesthesiologists Are Tethered

Anesthesiology is great. Anesthesiologists make a lot of money and have an envious lifestyle. Isn't that why it is such an aspiring field for medical students? However, one aspect of anesthesiology that students and residents may not be fully aware of is that we are strictly tethered to the hospital. Almost all anesthesiologists, if we don't spend our call nights in the hospital, have to be able to get there from home within thirty minutes. The reason for this is that we may have to come in for a trauma or an emergency obstetric case. In such situations, minutes can mean the difference between life and death. This restriction can severely affect our quality of life and spending choices.

The TV show "House Hunters" illustrate this issue. One episode was about Joey, an anesthesiologist in Wilmington, NC. The doctor's search for his new home were restricted by having to live within a few minutes of his hospital. This may not be a problem if one lives in a small town. I grew up in a rural hamlet in the Midwest. Driving thirty minutes outside of town led to cow tipping territory already.

But if somebody wants to live in a traffic plagued city like Los Angeles, living thirty minutes from the hospital may put one only about five miles away. Thus compromises have to be made--life plans may need to be altered. In LA, anesthesiologists who can afford to live near the nicer hospitals on the Westside, like in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica, may have to squeeze into smaller homes. They may have to pay for their kids to go to expensive private schools. There may not be more than a few square feet of lawn for children to play in. If they want to have a nicer home with a bigger yard and better public schools, they may actually have to transfer to a different hospital to stay within the thirty minute radius.

So yes, anesthesiologists have a nice lifestyle. Just remember that the anesthesia lifestyle may include a view of the hospital from your bedroom window.